Getting Ready for Online Play at Lichess
You've signed your child up for Lichess and for Evanston Scholastic Chess. Your child is looking forward to his or her first tournament. How can your child get ready for online chess and improve his or her game?
We recommend that players play “Rapid” and “Blitz” games on lichess (available through the Quick Paring tab on the main page), at least until their ratings are no longer provisional (https://lichess.org/faq#provisional). Lichess calculates ratings for new players based on whether they win or lose their games. The first games one plays are likely to be hard; if your children lose their early games, let them know that Lichess is still adapting to their skills and not to be discouraged. As your child's rating adjusts, they will get more evenly matched games from the chess server.
New to chess? These practice tournaments are for players who know the rules of chess and know how to checkmate an opponent. If your child is new to chess, please contact your school’s chess coordinator to discuss the best options for your child to learn chess. Also, check out https://lichess.org/learn#/ and https://www.chesskid.com/lessons
Fair Play for Evanston Scholastic Online Tournaments
Most families first meet Evanston Scholastic Chess through our over-the-board tournaments. Children play in a gym or library, supervised and monitored by parents and high school students, and to a certain extent monitored by each other, too.
When COVID arrived, we had to take Evanston Scholastic Chess online. But those of us who have played online know that people who play online sometimes cheat by using the advice of others, books, and most often, chess software. The major online chess sites – Lichess, Chess.com, and Chesskid – all use some form of cheat detection, and they mark or close accounts of players who cheat. This is explicitly stated by each platform. For example the Lichess.org terms of service can be found here: https://lichess.org/terms-of-service. By signing up for Lichess (or having your parent sign you up), you promise to play fair and not use outside assistance.
Read more: Fair Play for Evanston Scholastic Online Tournaments